PrairieProf

Prozyme is digestive enzymes, which is something totally different than probiotics. The only thing they have in common is that both are related to digestion. My vet used to recommend Fortiflora, but has switched to a newer probiotic, Proviable, which he says he's seen excellent results from. It's quite expensive though.

Welcome! Odin has such a cute expression!

A T4 of 0.9 is higher than many/most greyhounds have -- the "normal" range for dogs in general has nothing to do with greyhound normal! With your panel results your grey certainly does not have a thyroid problem. Best wishes in figuring it out!

You might try dried sweet potato chews -- Beth does well with those in small amounts. We use ones called Veggie Rawhide from Sam's Yams but break them in half, as too much produces looser orange poo. Beth has had a pancreas issue so no chews where I can't verify the fat and protein percentages.

That looks somewhat like a pea-sized cyst Beth had that I was going to have removed eventually ... meanwhile it ruptured under the skin and caused a local autoimmune reaction that left her with a silver-dollar sized hairless spot that had to be surgically repaired. So in future I get all bumps removed sooner rather than later. The vet didn't think Beth's needed to be biopsied -- she's had a number of cyst-type bumps, fortunately non in the past year. Just wanted to share a cautionary tale about waiting too long!

There are grain-inclusive gluten-free foods. Beth used to do pretty well on TOTW, now she does better, I have to say, on Hill's Prescription I/D which has corn and rice. Science Diet Sensitive Stomach has similar ingredients, and receives rave ratings from non-dog food snobs who actually use it. One thing I'd suggest trying is going lower fat -- that has made a big difference for us, although it was hard for me to wrap my mind around since I don't eat grains and do eat plenty of fat for health reasons myself. There are lots of foods that have only rice, too, I'm pretty sure, like CA Natural. One issue you might want to think about too is not just what's in the food but where and how foods are processed -- if your family has celiac disease there could be issues with cross-contamination in the processing plant. Remember that very few companies actually make their own food, many foods are made by giant processors that the "name" companies have little oversight over, and even there they're going to probably be making multiple lines of food (some gluten free, some not) on the same machines. Might be worth some phone calls if you're really concerned about avoiding any exposure.

Welcome Greymaroon (greyt name)! U of C PhD here. The bike path along the lake shore would be a great greyhound walking place (though my girl sometimes has the passing impulse to chase bicycles, especially recumbents for some reason!). I graduated in the early 90s many years pre-greyhound so I can't help you with specifics, but I'm sure you'll get good guidance here.

Welcome! If there's a greyhound group near you you might think of doing some volunteering for them as a great way of learning the breed and establishing your merits and commitment. If you're in your freshman year, though, I would really urge you to wait a year or two before pursuing this ... you are about to face so many changes and new activities and emotional stresses and demands (work and social) on your time, and you shouldn't add responsibility for a dog to the mix, for the dog's sake and for yours. In a couple of years, things should be much more stable. You have many, many years ahead of you to have greyhounds! I'm a college professor, so I'm speaking from a lot of experience in terms of what I see with students. But yes, I know undergrads who are devoted dog parents, and am friends with at least one greyhound mom who's in college who was a great owner until her hound's untimely death in a tragic accident.

Wow she is doing great! Beth did a lot of anxious pacing the first couple of days as I recall. She's proving her name already!

Minor side-note, but I can't figure out how to count greyhound toes to end up with nine after an amp! I was thinking we really should make a thread to list all our de-toed houndies... I'm trying to keep a positive outlook on Beth's as a unique feature rather than a handicap.

Be aware, though, that adding fish oil to food is not without risk, though I believe strongly in Omega 3's and take it myself. I know Soulsmom strongly believes adding fish oil is what triggered Soul's HGE, and I definitely suspect it was what caused Beth to almost get acute pancreatitis.

Congrats on the end of worry and best wishes for a smooth healing process!

Beth barks when she's in another room and wants attention, but is too lazy to get off the bed to seek me out. When she was boarding at my vet they laughed because she'd do it there too -- she is a big favorite and got a lot of personal time with the techs. She only started doing this in the last year or so. She is also VERY VERY barky when playing -- she will bark at other dogs when she wants them run or play. She is loud and persistent!

Super is gorgeous! You might find it interesting to read about her very very famous granddaddy Gable Dodge here: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/259876-question-about-gable-dodge/ (her great-granddad Molotov is super duper famous too) Beth loves cottage cheese and yogurt too, lots of hounds do. In fact I often need dairy products to bribe her off the bed when it's walk time, especially for "last call" at night. The clank of the spoon on her bowl brings her right away! Yes, I'm in Iowa, and my best friend who now lives among the palms of San Diego feels the same way about wishing she could come back if she could get work (we're both college professors so don't have a lot of mobility). I'm an east coast native but do enjoy it here on the whole!

Welcome! How exciting! I remember shopping shopping shopping before Beth came home. We will be eager to hear your update!

You don't have to bring the dog in to the vet get a fecal, just bring in the sample! I'm sure they could run it any time, no appointment needed.

You can get a poop guard via GEM greyhounds: http://gemgreyhounds.org/gem_store/muzzles.htm They have excellent service! I would get a fecal done on Vanilla -- seems a cheap and easy measure to be on the safe side if she's been hanging out in a worm-infested yard.

I'm very sorry! What a handsome and personable fellow. Love the pot shot!

Oh dear! Hope he's OK and just pulled a muscle or something. Given that Beth destroyed the ligaments in a toe when her foot slipped in what appeared a fairly minor way running on wet grass (though she stopped running after), I'd take him in tomorrow if he's not better. At least you could get some Deramaxx. Really look closely at his toes to make sure none of them are at a funny angle.

Well the vet thinks just bug bites -- maybe no-see-ums or something like that. I'm inclined to agree now, as most of the bumps seem smaller already than yesterday. He didn't charge me for the quickie visit, either. What a great guy. I guess spending as much time and money there as we've done recently generates certain perks. It was like an indoor playdate for Beth on this 97-degree day -- she got petted by various techs and got to sniff the butt of the friendly clinic kitty.

Oh no, I'm so sorry. Could the swallowing be just a symptom of nausea? though I'm sure you probably checked that out before.

Wow, that is amazingly good news! So glad she's OK!

I remember Jed too. What a handsome boy. Such a shocking loss that was. to you.

I've now found about fifteen bumps total! Kind of up the back of one of her rear legs as well as on the feet. On the positive side, the bigger ones I tried to get pictures of might be a little smaller today. At any rate we have a vet appointment in the late afternoon.

If I ever heard of something warranting a trip to an emergency vet, this would be it. Go NOW. Do NOT feed her or give her water. It could be something like acute pancreatitis which is a life-threatening emergency (yet can be ruled in or out with a quick in-house blood test). This is an ACUTE situation.